Shadowchasers: The Calling
by lightningshadow7
Summary: The World isn't what it seems. Shadows are creatures from myth and fantasy that live among us, hidden from human eye. The only ones who can police the Shadows, are the Shadowchasers. Inspired by Cyber Commander. Chapter 2: Cold Shoulder is up.
1. Chapter 1: The Tour

**Hello and welcome to one of my first fanfics. This is inspired by the story Shadowchasers written by Cyber Commader, and I have used his world with his permission. Hopefully I don't let down such an excellent writer. **

**This story is set 7 years after GX, so not in the 5D's universe. I will be using the forbidden list as of March 2009 and when that changes I won't be changing this fic to suit it.**

**There won't be much mention of the stars of the GX show but when they do show up I will be using the Japanese names. Using TCG cards I will be using their American names, and ****for cards that exist only in the OCG, I'll use the most agreed-upon translation. For anime-only cards, I'll use either the original name or the dub name, depending on which makes more sense.**

**Now onto the Story!**

**Shadowchasers The Calling**

**A fanfic by Lightningshadow7**

**Chapter 1: The Tour**

_**Oh Come on! What do you mean I got to…but look at the kid…I have to do what? Take the kid with me! Huh. Well when you put it like that Jalal.**_

_**Ok kid I guess that's the deal. My name is Andrew**_ _**Tennent.**__** I have to show you the ropes. I get the joy of teaching you how a Shadowchaser does his runs. You were supposed to be in San Francisco for your training but lucky for us, your in Chicago for the job with me.**_

_**Wait what? You don't know what a Shadowchaser is? Oh come on now. Where did they get you, the idiot tree? Fine I'll tell ya but only this once so pay attention. The Shadowchasers are a group who deal with Shadows and keep humanity safe from them and them safe from humanity. **_

_**Wait you don't even know what a Shadow is? You are kidding me right? Your serious? Gee whiz ok here's how I explain it to you. You know all those things in bed times stories and movies with midgets-I mean hobbits? The elves and Orcs and dragons? They're real. They come from a world where they are incredibly common but were snatched off by some weird force and dumped here with no memory of how or what their home was like. But they adapted.**_

_**Why don't humans see this? Wouldn't this be reported to the government? That's the thing humans can see it. Problem is our brains blot it out, call it a trick of the light or rationalizes it. I know a guy who was dating a Troll for 7 months, and didn't even realize it, only broke up with her because her 'dog' kept tearing up the sofa. Right.**_

_**Not all humans are like this. Some, like you and me, can see them. We are called Aware. There's no mist over our eyes. There is also the Sensitive who get some idea something's wrong but aren't really sure. **_

_**Now 1000 years ago, the Shadowchasers were created by Jalal a half dragon who saw the logic in making a group dedicated to stopping either group taking advantage of another. Ofcourse most humans don't know we exist so don't be writing home to your mum about us, unless you want to be put in a loony bin kay kid?**_

_**Now let me show you around…**_

Andrew sighed as he prepared to show the kid around the base. He scratched the back of his dark brown hair, and kept rubbing his dark eyes. His accent showed he was clearly American, and he wore a black trench coat with a Navy Blue lining, while he wore normal black jeans. Across his back he wore what seemed to be a metal back pack, with a timer on it that read **13:42.**

From the front the base looked like a rundown old garage and repair store. The buildings on either side of it were even more run down and there weren't many visitors. He saw the kid go squeamish upon the sight of it.

"If you think this is bad, wait till you meet an Ooze creature. You will be crying for a warm shower." He stepped towards the sign which read Closed, and tapped the O sign twice. "Let me in Sam. I've got the new kid with me." A large outdated SUV in the back moved like it was on a conveyer belt, to the side revealing a glowing blue staircase. Andrew walked towards it before turning around at the scared trainee. "Kid I'm not going to hold your hand. Either come along or stay there. Doesn't bother me." As he walked down, the kid came down right behind him.

Below was far more impressive. Pristine White walls and floors, there was a large HD TV in the corner. A lab was connected to the far side of the room, while living quarters were connected on either side of the room, men on one side women on the other. In the centre of the room stood a large pad with a light on the bottom that was currently green. "That is where Jalal sends us orders via hologram. If we need him we can use it to talk to him, but right now we don't need him."

The kid asked carefully, "Wait, isn't Jalal the half dragon who made the Shadowchasers 1000 years ago?" Andrew nodded. "Yup. Good to know your following." Before any more questions could be ignored, another person entered from one of the living quarters. She was blond haired and very tall and lithe, she was clutching a cross that lay across her chest and had her head facing towards it.

"Hey Sandy! Good to see you! This is the new trainee! The kid's name is-" he stopped himself when he saw her look. The look. Her beautiful face had a snarl that chilled both Shadowchasers to the bone. Her blue eyes were almost animal like. "Sorry. Didn't know. Carry on." Sandy looked back to her cross and went back to her room.

"Pal, a bit of advice if your going to stay here. Do not bother Sandy Lunar when she's praying. I'd rather wrestle a Hydra then disturb Sandy when she's praying. At least with the Hydra the suffering would be quick." It's hard to tell if he's joking. "Maybe Sam is in a better mood." Andrew led the recruit to the lab he knocked twice. Then he heard a gruff voice answer.

"Whose bothering me?" Andrew stepped away from the door and the recruit soon saw why. A powerful kick opened the door from inside, and out came a tall, Military looking man. What was most unusual about him was that his dark skin ended at his left arm was completely metal. "What you looking at?" Sam said, before grabbing the recruit with his normal arm. "You think this is some zoo you can just stare wherever you like?" The recuit was terrified at this and felt like crying. Then Sam started to laugh.

"Ah man, I'm just pulling your chain. Man Andy where do they get these guys?" He let the recruit down gently. "The name's Samuel Mason, ex US army Corporal and father of two. Welcome to the Shadowchasers. Think your ready to hunt down the most dangerous creatures this world has ever known?" He had a very proud, patriotic smile.

"Now Sam, we don't just catch humans." At this Sam visibly turned visibly angry. Before he could respond, the backpack Andrew was wearing beeped, before speaking in an effeminate male voice.

"Warning, Shadowkind detected stealing a motorcycle from a human and destroying a public place in the process. Species is determineded to be Tiefling." Andrew shook his head. "Well, kid it's time to see how we handle things in the Shadowchaser bizz. See ya Sammy!" before rushing the recruit up the stairs. Sam just sighed before returning to the lab.

Andrew gets on top of his motorcycle, a red and silver off road bike. It appears to be reinforced and it's engine is huge. The speedometer has a gauge that can go up to 300 miles per hour. Andrew pulls the recruit on behind him. "Hold on tight, this ain't a kids ride." He revs the handle, before it shoots off.

Riding on the bike, every moment seems to be like watching a movie on fast-forward. The walls appear and then are avoided with incredible reflexes. A mistiming could make the motorcycle go splat. "Fun isn't it kid?" The kid's response was being sick. "Oh God, don't get it on my ride!"

Finally the ride began to slow down upon coming closer to another motorcycle. It was a normal hog, black no defining characteristics except for the fact the license plate had been visibly melted down and torn off.

"Ok get off the motorcycle buddy!" Andrew stated as he rode up alongside the opposing driver. "As a Shadowchaser, I order you to get off the motorcycle! I won't be asking again!" The driver wasn't accommodating, and made a rude gesture, before pulling out what appeared to be a miniature flamethrower. He pulled the trigger, and a jet of flames shot out at Andrew's bike. A quick flip of the wrist, and Andrew had slowed down and was directly behind the rider.

"Alright, don't say I never warned you." Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a long silver sword. It was inlayed with some runes that glowed dark blue. He then zoomed forward, and slashed at the tires of the motorcycle. The motor cycle started to spiral out of control and the Tiefling leapt out of the vehicle, dropping his flame thrower as he did so.

As the Tiefling got up from the fall, not looking worse for wear, Andrew drove up to him got off the bike and pulled off his backpack. "Kid, stay on the bike." The recruit eagerly agreed. "Alright Mr…I'm sorry what's your name."

"It's Fred. Fred Grind." Andrew raised an eyebrow.

"Grind? You sure?" The Tiefling took off his helmet and revealed through his brown hair he had short curly horns. His eyes were dark red, not just the irises but all of the eye except the pupil.

"Of course I'm sure! What kind of idiot doesn't know his own name?" Andrew raised his hands defensively.

"Ok, ok. No offense. Now I'm going to give you the option of a fair contest before bringing you in." Out of his backpack he pulled out a new duel disk, resembling a yellow version of the ones from Duel academy.

"WHAT? You're dueling him? Why are you dueling him? You should be arresting him!" Both Shadow and Shadowchaser turned to look at the recruit.

"Is he new?" Fred asked.

"Very new. This is training day. But I thought he would know this much." He put his head in his hands, before addressing the recruit.

"In the Treaty- you know at least that much right? The agreement between Shadowchasers and all recognized Shadows? They would be exempt from human laws, but if they broke Shadowchaser laws they would be given the option of a fair contest before being brought to trial. However it was hard to decide what a fair contest was, because Shadows were usually stronger then humans and Shadowchasers knew special techniques-are you sure no one explained this to you?" The kid's head shook, signaling no.

"Well anyway, after duelmonsters was made Jalal decided this would be the best fair contest, since no one could expect what cards or strategies the other duelist could use so it was fair to both sides. Now I'm going to offer this guy a fair trial. If he doesn't accept, I take him down. I couldn't exactly duel him on a motorcycle now could I? That would be dumb."

"I accept. Now quit chatting, and let's finish this." The Tiefling pulled out a very old model, resembling the ones from Battle city.

Both dueldisks lighted up and extended allowing both duelists to put their decks in. Both duelists drew 5 cards, before both announced,

"**Duel!"**

**(Fred: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Andrew: 8,000)**

"I'll go first, human." Fred said grinning as he drew his 6th card. "I set a monster facedown and end my turn." The Brown back of the card appeared in front of him.

Andrew drew his 6th card, before grinning. "Alright, time for some real action. I summon Gladiator Beast Laquari (1800/400)!" As the card appeared on the field, a ring of fire surrounded it, before out of it leapt a humanoid tiger warrior, wearing a red chest plate. It roared as it made it's entrance. "This is my favorite card, so why don't you get to know it better. Rocket Claw attack!" The Beast-Warrior leapt at the facedown monster, before it revealed itself as a blue turtle like creature. The turtle wasn't around long before it burst into pieces by the attack.

"Moron. That was my UFO Turtle (1400/1200) and when it's destroyed in battle I can summon a fire monster with 1500 or less attack. Like my Solar flare Dragon (1500/1000)!" Appearing on the field was a long snake, seemingly made out of fire.

Andrew wasn't impressed. "Oh a Solar Flare Dragon, real original. You think of that yourself or did you steal that from the internet?" Fred was visibly steaming from that remark. "I however, have a surprise up my sleeve. Tag Out!"

Laquari turned around to face Andrew. A gate appeared infront of him. Out walked what appeared to be a heavily armed rhinoceros. The two Gladiators gave each other a high five, before Laquari walked into the gate and disappeared, and the rhinoceros bent down on the knee and covered himself with a tower shield. (700/2100--2400)

"This is Gladiator Beast Hoplomus, in defense mode. When a Gladiator Beast survives a battle with another monster, I can put it back into my deck and summon a different Gladiator Beast from my deck. More helpfully the Gladiator beasts gain new powers if they are summoned this way. Case in point, Hoplomus' Original Defense becomes 2400 if summoned by Tag Out." Quickly glancing at the cards in his hands, he set two down.

"I end my turn."

"Finally! I've been waiting forever for you to shut up!" He drew his next card and glared at it. "Alright! Prepare for double the trouble! I summon another Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)" Another Solar Flare dragon appeared alongside the original. The two dragons then snaked their heads around each other, appearing to be a two headed dragon.

"As long as another Pyro monster is on the field you can't attack a Solar Flare Dragon. And since both my Solar Flare dragon's are Pyro type-"

"Yes yes, I can't attack either of them. The infamous Solar Flare Lock. Oh the horror, like I haven't seen this before." Andrew Said sarcastically.

"Alright fine it's not original! But that doesn't mean you can beat it! I set a card facedown and end my turn." The hologram appeared behind the two dragons, both of which started to glow bright orange.

"Oh, the Solar Flare Dragon's effect, how could I forget? They deal 500 damage each to my lifepoints at the end of your turns. What can I do? It's not like I have a facedown card to help me." He dryly stated, before pressing a button on his duel disk. One of his facedown cards lifted itself, revealing a trap card.

"Meet my Gladiator Beast War Chariot. When you activate a monster's effect and I have a Gladiator beast face up, this card negates the monster's effect and your monster is destroyed." One of the solar Flare Dragon's heads roared in pain before disappearing. "I still take 500 points of damage from the other dragon, but I can accept that."

**(Fred: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Andrew: 7,500)**

Ignoring the Tiefling's angry glares, Andrew drew his card. "Alright then, I summon Gladiator Beast Darius (1700/300) in attack mode!" A volley of light emerged from the hologram of the card before a purple humanoid with a horse' head stepped out, adorned in yellow shoulder pads and loincloth.

"Now Gladiator Beast Darius, destroy the Solar Flare Dragon!" Darius charged towards the dragon, and punched it into pixels with a right hook. Fred was smirking however.

"I activate my facedown card, Backfire! Now you take 500 points of damage whenever you destroy one of my fire monsters!" However his trap card shattered. "What? What did you do?" Andrew pointed at the card he had just activated.

"This is my Parry trap card. When you activate a trap, I can send one Gladiator Beast in my hand back to my deck, like my Gladiator Beast Dimacari (1600/1200) to negate and destroy it. Bye bye." He shuffled the card back into his deck. "But since it's the end of my battle phase, I can send Darius back to my deck to bring out someone new. Meet Gladiator Beast Samnite (1600/1200)! Tag out!" Once again the gate appeared, but this time a white tiger, adorned with a shield and a glowing white sword leapt out of the gate. Darius disappeared into the gate, and back into the deck.

"I set a card facedown and end my turn." He looked Fred right in the eye, as if daring him to do something new. And it was starting to make Fred sweat.

"That's it! No more mr nice guy! Kid gloves coming off! You want it you got it!" Before drawing his card and looking at it. "Alright, I remove from play one Solar Flare Dragon and one UFO turtle from my graveyard," He put both cards in his pocket. "To special summon Inferno(1100/1900) and Spirit of Flames (1700/1000)!" The two monsters that appeared were both very angry and seem to give off smoke as they touched the ground. Inferno seemed to be a face made entirely of fire, and in its jaws held human skulls. Spirit of Flames looked like it was formed out of lava.

"But that's not all I'm doing. I sacrifice both of these monsters," The two monsters stopped glaring at Andrew to face their master with confused faces. "Quiet you two." The two monsters disappeared in flames. "To Summon Infernal Flame Emperor (2700/1600)!" Out of the flames rose a huge behemoth, a giant creature with two sets of wings coming out it's back. It breathed fire from it's body as it roared. Andrew rubbed sweat off his forehead with his sleeve.

"Whoo boy. Is it getting hot out here or is it just me?" Fred's eyes glowed red at the Shadowchaser. "No need to get so fiery with me." He laughed at his own joke and looked at the recruit by the bike, who hadn't said a word. "Oh come on, that was funny! Sigh. Everyone's a critic." before returning to the duel.

"That's it! Infernal Flame Emperor tear him to shreds!" Andrew raised his chin.

"You sure? Really sure?" But it did no good, as Infernal Flame Emperor shot out a blast of fire anyway. "Alright, don't say I didn't warn you. Go Waboku!" Three women in blue gowns stood infront of the gladiators, absorbing the fire. After the fire died down the three women disappeared.

"My Waboku reduced battle damage to me or my monsters to 0. Now my Samnite survived the battle and you know what that means? Tag Out!" The gateway appeared behind Samnite, who walked in before being replaced by what looked like a fish in amour carrying two rocket packs on it's shoulders.

"Meet Gladiator Beast Murmillo (800/400). And he's going to destroy your Infernal Flame Emperor." The Gladiator readied it's trident. The Tiefling smirked.

"It doesn't stand a chance. And there is no way you can make it strong enough by next turn to beat my monster." Andrew shook his head.

"Not next turn. Now. Murmillo, Sub-Aquatic Barrage!" The Murmillo's rocket pads opened up and shot out two spiked missiles at the Flame Emperor, who held it's chest as it was struck before bursting into pixels. "My Murmillo can destroy 1 face up monster when it's special summoned by a Gladiator Beast. Of course this wouldn't have happened if you were smart enough to activate your monster's effect."

Fred looked confused for a moment before he slapped his head in realization. "Oh no! I could have removed a monster from my graveyard and destroyed your trap! I wouldn't have battled it, and you would be stuck with Samnite!" Andrew winked at the Shadow.

"Got it in one, give the man a prize? How about a one way ticket to your jail cell, escorted by me? If you give up now, I'll throw in a basket of goodies." Visibly fuming, Fred set one card face down and ended his turn with one card in his hand.

"But everyone likes a basket of goodies..." Andrew said sounding heartbroken. Then he looked at his card and became serious again. "I Summon Test Tiger (600/300)!" A small tiger cub appeared on the field, adorned in miniature amour. It mewed at Fred. The Tiefling sniggered.

"Oh what's that going to do? Drink milk at me?" Andrew had an evil grin on his face that made the Tiefling nervous.

"Don't. Mess. With. The. Kitty." Fred gulped. "Test Tiger, Activate effect. Tag Out!" The kitten disappeared, while a gate appeared behind Murmillo. It walked into the gate.

"Wait a minute, there was no battle, how come the Gladiator Beast's effect be activating?" The recruit asked, speaking up for the first time since the duel had started. Andrew stopped shuffling his deck to turn to the recruit.

"Simple kid. Test Tiger's effect jumpstarts it, after I tribute it. Now I can special summon a Gladiator Beast from my deck. Meet one of my strongest creatures, Gladiator Beast Alexander (2400/600)!" Out of the tunnel a lion wearing golden armor with two angel like wings appears. Both it's wings glow white with energy.

"When my Gladiator Beast is summoned this way, it can't be affected by spell cards. Alexander attack him directly!" The Gladiator Beast's wings blasted bolts of white energy at Fred. However before the attack could reach, a suit of armor rose out of the ground and took the blast.

"What the heck?" Andrew exclaimed. The armor lumbered towards the Gladiator, before it was in striking range and lunged at it. When the armor had the Beast in it's grip both shattered into pixels.

"Sakuretsu Armor destroys a monster that attacks me. Not too smart are you?" Andrew was none too pleased.

"Watch it pal, I'm not done with you yet. I set a card facedown and end my turn." He flexed his hands, now devoid of any cards.

Fred drew his card and then looked at Andrew, before revealing what he had drawn. "See this Meteor of destruction? Why don't you get more personal with it?" He put the card in his spell and trap slot, and the hologram sky grew red as a comet appeared to fall from the sky, striking Andrew and knocking him down.

"That all you got?" Andrew said, getting up slowly.

"Not even close. First I set a card facedown," the card's hologram appeared in his spell and trap zone. "But then I play Blasting Vein! I sacrifice the spell card and draw two from my deck!"

The card shattered into pixels. Suddenly a dark spirit rose from where the trap had just been, and went inside Andrew, causing him great pain.

"Did I forget to mention that was black Pendent, and when it's destroyed you take 500 points of damage? An oldie but a goody."

**(Fred: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Andrew: 6,000)**

Fred smiled at his new cards. "Well what do you know? My luck's turning around! I summon Blazing Inpachi (1850/0)!" A pile of logs appeared infront of Fred, before they ignited. They slowly rose and formed into a living mechanical being. Andrew however was unimpressed. "Your monster still can't get through my gladiator Beast, and if you try I'll just be getting a new one." _Not to mention the fact_ _that my facedown Defensive tactics will prevent any damage to him if he does increase the Inpachi's power. _He thought to himself. "I wouldn't worry about that. I play Shield Crush!" As the card's hologram appeared on the field, a red blast from the card destroyed Gladiator Beast Hoplomus. "My Shield Crush destroys one monster that's in defense mode on the field. And now your wide open. Blazing Inpachi, Charcol Blast!" The Pyro monster sucked in a huge expanse of air, before releasing it as smog and fire at Andrew. "*cough* that wasn't nice *cough*." As he wiped the soot off himself.

**(Fred: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Andrew: 4,150)**

"Oh I'm so worried about your opinion about me. I can't do anything else though, so take your turn." Andrew drew his next card, looked at it with a blank stare, before setting it in the monster zone. "Your move."

Drawing his card, Fred's eyes bulged open. "Oh boy. This is not your day. I summon Royal Firestorm Guards (1700/1200)!" A large red reptilian monster appeared on the field, it's lower body being one large tail and it's upper body possessing claws. It flashed red, before Fred's graveyard ignited.

"Don't be alarmed human." He said the last word mockingly, "My monster allows me to take 4 pyro monsters from my graveyard and reshuffle it back in my deck." He took out Infernal Flame Emperor, Inferno, Spirit of Flames and his last Solar Flare dragon out of his graveyard and shuffled them back into his deck.

"I can now also draw two cards from my deck." He looked at his two cards, before scowling.

"Didn't get what you wanted?" Andrew enquired, before coughing again. "Man that smoke really clogs up the lungs. Why do they make this game so realistic?"

"Well before you cough your lungs out, chew on this! Blazing Impachi destroy his facedown monster!" Again the burning construct shot a blast of fire and smoke at Adrew. This time however, his monster took the damage for him. The card flipped up to reveal what appeared to be a monkey wearing a dueldisk, before shattering into pixels.

"You know that card sort of looks like you." He ignored Andrew's glare. "However to me, all you monkeys look the same."

"That was my Test Ape (700/300). When it's destroyed in battle I can summon a level 4 or lower Gladiator Beast from my deck. So welcome the return of Gladiator Beast Laquari (1800/400)!" The monster roared as it appeared again in a flash of light.

_Dang it. Laquari is too strong for my Firestorm guard to destroy. But I don't need to worry. I'll just use my two trap cards. If mirror Force doesn't get him my Magical Cylinder will. _

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn. But next turn I'm going to destroy your Laquari and move onto your lifepoints."

Andrew closed his eyes and whispered, _""__Mishara Namre Dolu."_ Before drawing his card. Then he smiled. "Oh I don't think so pal. I summon Gladiator Beast Bestiari (1500/800)!" A gust of wind appeared on the field, causing several of the monsters to put their arms up to prevent being tossed aside. But the wind died and revealed a green bird, decked out in advanced armor standing with arms by its side.

"Sadly he's not sticking around a lot." The bird suddenly went teary and looked pleadingly at it's master. "Oh come on don't give me that look." The monster gave a big smile, and winked at Andrew. "That's right you think your funny don't you pal."

Fred and the recruit just look on with strange fascination. "Hey kid, is he mixed in the head?" Fred asked. The recruit shrugged.

"Regardless of my monster's humor, we're doing a fusion. Contact Fusion!"

"Wait!" Fred shouted, interrupting Andrew, whose eye begins to twitch menacingly. "I know about this! Both monsters go back to the deck to summon a fusion Monster. Judai Yuki uses this all the time! But only Elemental heroes can do Contact Fusion!"

"Never interrupt my montage! Ever!" Andrew starts taking some deep breaths. "In actual fact, Gladiator Beasts also have the ability to Contact Fuse. So that makes me special doesn't it? Now where was I? Oh yeah! Contact Fusion!" His creatures began to glow white, and became one form.

"Say hello to Gladiator Beast Gyzarus (2400/1500)!" Out of the white glow, appeared another bird similar Bestiari except with even more decked out armour, it looked like it couldn't move. Luckily, there were rockets connected to its sides that kept the creature levitating.

Fred didn't seem worried by the creature. _Doesn't matter, my cards will still make him suffer for that oversized rooster. _

"I activate my monster's effect. Rocket Wind Flap!" Using rocket propelled wings, it swept gusts of wind towards Fred. The attack destroyed his two set cards.

"What did you just do?" The sweating with fear Tiefling screamed.

"I did nothing. My Gladiator Beast Gyzarus can destroy two cards on the field when summoned, and I chose to take out your two set cards. But this is going to hurt more. Gyzarus attack his Firestorm Guards!" Again it prepared it's rocket powered wings for combat, and shot the same gust of wind, but this time it took out the reptilian guard.

"And with that amazing move I end my turn." _I could use his effect to get two Gladiator Beasts from my deck, but right now I think it would be better if I just stuck with what I got right now._

**(Fred: 7,300) - - - - - - - - - - (Andrew: 4,150)**

Fred looked really nervous as he drew his next card. _Ok no need to panic. I'm still leading by over 3000 points. This shmuck just got lucky._ He looked at the card he drew. _This will stall for time._

"I set a monster facedown, and move Blazing Impachi to defense mode."

Andrew drew a card and looked over the field. Then he grinned. "I summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000)!" A tall minotaur appeared on the field, glowing with a red aura. As it roared, the gladiator Beast started to glow with the same red aura.

"Now Winged Beast, Beast-warrior and Beast monsters get piercing damage. That applies to most of my Gladiator Beasts. Enraged Battle Ox destroy his Blazing Impachi!" The beast slashed at the monster, turning into a pile of logs before shattering into pixels.

"Now Gyzarus destroy his facedown!" Gyzarus' rockets became more powerful, shooting the Gladiator Beast towards the facedown, and physically slashed it; revealing the monster to be another UFO Turtle (1400/1200).

**(Fred: 4,400) - - - - - - - - - - (Andrew: 4,150)**

Fred Clutched his arm, as if he was in pain. "I now summon Flame Ruler (1500/1600) in attack mode." A fiery Pyro in the red jacket and blue pantaloons appeared. Andrew looked at his options. _I don't know, should I tag out? I could get more but… I don't know I don't like using a monster more then twice. I'm already kicking his ***. Bah, I'll do more but only to swarm the field._

"I return Gyzarus to my fusion deck," The monster disappeared. "To special summon two new friends. I summon Gladiator Beast Dimacari (1600/1200) and Gladiator Beast Octavius (2500/1200)!" Two new monsters appeared, one a tall purple minotaur with spiked gauntlets, and a tall humanoid bald eagle decked out in golden amour. Both monsters glowed red with the aura of the Enraged Battle Ox.

_Heh heh. My Dimacari can attack twice. Come next turn, I can destroy what ever facedown he plays with my Octavius, my Battle Ox can beast his flame Ruler if he's still there and my Dimicari and whatever I summon next can beat his lifepoints to nothing. It's the perfect plan. _

At the otherside of the arena, Fred was terrified. _Why did I summon Flame Ruler? The chances of me drawing something good to use this card with are a thousand to one! Ok not that bad but still. I have about 3 monsters that need two tributes, and only two are going to help me. Well here goes. _He slowly drew his card, not looking at it, before peeking with an eye open. He almost fell down in disbelief.

_I must be the luckiest Sonofa this side of hell. _"I sacrifice my Flame Ruler," The monster turned to fire, but surprisingly it split into two bodies before each disappeared. "To summon a level 10 monster."

"Level 10? What could possibly…oh no. Not that. It can't be…" Andrew said, looking very nervous.

"That's right. It's Ultimate Obedient Fiend (3500/3000)!" The ground infront of the Tiefling split open, and a gargantuan creature rose out of it. The monster was at least the size of a sky scraper and had the iconic appearance of the devil. Andrew gulped.

"I see the family resemblance. I guess he got the good looks in the family?" Andrew said with a very brave face. _Oh come on, how come the criminals get all the cool cards? I'm going to get showed up and infront of the new recruit too._

"Your taunts are meaningless to me. Ultimate Obedient Fiend destroy his Octavius!" The Fiend raised a huge claw before bringing it down to strike the Gladiator Beast. Luckily he was stopped by a sudden forcefield surrounding Octavius.

"That was my Defensive Tactics. It's like Waboku, but for Gladiator Beasts." The demon kept banging on the forcefield, until finally it gave up and returned to it's previous position.

"Well you can't do anything else so I assume you end your turn." As he said this Octavius disappeared from the field, but without a replacement.

_Sadly Octavius doesn't bring back a Gladiator when he tags out. And I couldn't keep him on the field because I didn't have any cards in my hand. Luckily my Defensive tactics goes on the bottom of my deck so maybe I'll see it again. _

Andrew drew a card from his deck, but frowned at it. _Rush Reckless._ _As of right now useless. _"I move both my monsters to defense mode and end my turn." The two minotaurs crouched down and put their hands across their chests in unison.

Fred drew a card and smiled at it. "You know, I'm not much of a fan of Judai Yuki, but he does have some nice cards. I found this in a pack once and thought it suited my deck to a tee. But I'll let you decide. I play H - Heated Heart!" A red H appeared on Ultimate Obedient Fiend's chest, as it's attack score rose. (4000/3000).

"Not only does my monster gain 500 Attack points, it gets piercing as well. Swell isn't it." Andrew makes no response.

"Eh. You just can't please some people. Ultimate Obedient Fiend, Ultimate Inferno Slash!" It rose a large hand before bringing it down on Enraged Battle Ox, shattering it into pixels, and taking a huge dent in Andrew's lifepoints.

**(Fred: 4,400) - - - - - - - - - - (Andrew: 1,150)**

Fred smiled. "You haven't got a chance in hell Shadowchaser. Make your last move."

Andrew looked at his deck. Looked at his opponent, and then looked at his deck again. "Come on. I'm not losing to a common criminal. Not now!" He said to no one in particular. He drew his card, before looking at it fondly. Then smugly at Fred.

"Bye bye. I play Brain Control. I pay 800 points and I take your monster for the turn." A large brain appeared, and hands reached out to grab Ultimate Obedient Fiend. It brought him over to Andrew's side. Fred looked horrified before he remembered.

"You can't attack with him. If you have another card on the field or in your hand you can't attack with Ultimate Obedient Fiend."

Andrew nodded. "I'm aware of that. I wouldn't want to anyway." He placed the card in his hand into the spell and trap slot. "I play rush Reckless on Gladiator Beast Dimacari which increases his attack by 700 points. (2300/1200) And he can attack twice. So I switch him to attack mode."

The minotaur returned to attack mode, but appeared to be supercharged as it kept shaking. "Attack him directly, Rocket Strike!" The minotaur ran towards Fred's now empty field, and struck him in the gut.

Fred coughed, clutching his chest. "I'm still here and next turn your finsished."

Andrew shook his head. "There will be no next turn. My Dimacari can attack twice." Fred's world was then eclipsed by a giant purple fist, knocking him down.

"Check and mate."

**(Fred: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (Andrew: 350)**

The cards on the field started to disappear as the duel disks turned off. Andrew pulled out a glowing blue gem from his pocket. "Fred Grind, you are guilty of assult, destruction of public property and theft." He turned to the recruit. "Now kid, watch. This is how we do arrests."

The gem glowed brighter and Fred cringed infront of it. Finally a flash from the gem, enveloped Fred and when it ended Fred was gone.

"Don't worry kid, he's not dead. He's been immobilized until he is sent to trial. Now let's head back home." He put his leg over the motorcycle before getting back on. He pulled the handle bar, and the two Shadowchasers zoomed off.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

As Andrew drove up to the base, he was surprised to see a limousine out front. "Who would bring a limousine to a place like this." He slowed down to see who was inside. The door slid open and out stepped a tall blonde man wearing light shades and a white suit with a green tie. Andrew put his head in hands.

"Ah not this bozo." The tall man offered his hand to the Shadowchaser.

"Hello Andrew. So good to see you again." He said dryly. "I've been sent here to collect a young Shadowchaser, who was sent for training here by accident. The name was-"

Andrew raised his hand to stop him.

"Yeah yeah. This is the kid." He pointed to the recruit behind him, ignoring the handshake.. "Why the sudden interest Mark? Jalal wanted me to teach him." Mark shook his head curtly, putting his hands by his side.

"No I'm afraid that just won't do. See the committee believes this group isn't adjusted enough to train a new Shadowchaser. I have no idea what Jalal's intentions were, but that's irrelevant. I have a signed order by the Committee to bring the recruit to San Francisco, where he will be trained properly." Mark pulled out a yellow piece of parchment, which had several signatures on it. It reeked of magic to those who could sense it.

Andrew looked over the parchement before nodding. "Fine, it checks out. But why the sudden interest in the recruit?"

"That is not of your concern." He turned to the recruit. "Come now. Let's go." The recruit nervously stood up, before looking at Andrew for guidance.

"Sorry kid. Your stuck with the guy in the horrible suit."

"It's Armani." Mark said with a raised eyebrow.

"Wow. Even Armani can't make you look good." Mark took the recruit with him, and led him into the limousine, before it drove off.

Andrew sighed. "That poor kid." Before driving inside the garage.

**Well there you have it. First day on the job and the kid's going off to San Francisco. Too bad it had to be with Mark. I hear San Francisco was lovely before he showed up. **

**I don't think I'll be getting up tomorrow. It's Sunday. It's been a tiring week and no one should work on a Sunday. I think Sandy's going to church though. Hope she enjoys herself.**

_Next time: We learn a little bit more of one of the more secretive members of the Chigaco Shadowchasers. Sandy's hoping to look for answers, but unfortunately she's going to meet with an old friend._

_Stay tuned for "Cold Shoulder"._


	2. Chapter 2: Cold Shoulder

**Chapter**** 2 Cold Shoulder**

_**I am haunted by a beast in my very soul.**_

_**I can not control my actions and I sin without hesitation. **_

_**I repent to the Lord, as none other can save me. I am cursed like no other. While others embrace their darkness I trod on the line. **_

_**May the Lord save me from the Wolf that eats my innocence.**_

_**I am Sandy Lunar. I am a Shadowchaser. And in my heart contains a darkness. Others want me to use the darkness to stop the evil of the world. They call it an opportunity. But this is no gift. This is an abomination. Save me from it.**_

Saint Hubert's was a very old church in Chicago, but very grand. You could tell, from the creaking floor and the glass windows this was once a very impressive church. But over the years, it became run down and most of the people left. It was run by just one priest, and an organ player who ran it for the few who came, old men and women who were either to stubborn to move, or refused to let go of their history.

And there was Sandy. She came here, as it was both a place to be alone, yet feel God. Modern churches were too loud. They were also too much of a danger if she couldn't control herself to others. But she wouldn't lose herself. In this place, in this church she had never lost control, not for the past 2 years she had been in Chicago as a Shadowchaser. Here she felt safe. If not for her job, she would stay here forever…

A knock was heard on the entrance door. It was such an uncommon sound, that the priest stopped his sermon in shock. Everyone turned to look at the door, except Sandy whose head remained in her hands. The door opened and a young male voice was heard.

"Hello. I'm sorry. This is my first time to this church. Please continue." The young man at the door said, before walking in and taking a seat near the back. The priest seemed content and continued the sermon. The others returned to looking at the priest, but there were occasional glances back to see the man.

But Sandy was terrified. Her blood turned to ice. She slowly took a glance back before wanting to run out screaming. _I need to get out of here. Now! _She thought to herself. For once the sermon seemed to stretch on for hours, and she felt the man behind her drilling his eyes into her back.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Finally when it was over, she quickly got up and left through one of the side exits. She took a brisk pace, so as not to draw too much attention to herself. She threw a scarf over her head so she could better hide herself. When she finally stopped, she was at a park. She breathed out in relief, before sitting on a bench. _What was he doing there? How could he find me? I was so careful. They think I'm dead. _Suddenly she was overwhelmed with emotions and felt almost like crying.

"Need a tissue Sandy?" The man from the church said, offering a tissue. She nearly fell off the bench upon seeing him.

"What…Jim? How…" She looked at him. He had dark hair and wore a pair of black slacks, a white shirt and a brown coat.

"It's good to see you Sandy. It's been too long." He sat down next to her, but Sandy quickly got up.

"How did you know? How did you get here from West Virginia?"

Jim sighed. "You could never hide from me Sandy. I looked at the remains. My dad's a cop, remember? I could see the forensics report. It didn't fit. The girl wasn't you." He stood up now and faced her, advanced towards her while she shrunk back.

"Why did you lie to us? Why didn't you come home? Everyone misses you." Sandy backed away slowly. "Tell me what happened."

Sandy shook her head. "I can't."

Jim didn't stop. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small portable duel disk, about the size of a saucer plate when folded. "I refuse to accept that. Duel me. You win I'll leave you alone and never come looking for you again. But if I win, you tell me everything. The truth." He slid the duel disk on, and it clicked open, revealing the slots to put monsters on. His deck was already in place. "Otherwise I'll just keep following you."

Sandy looked around her. There was no one else in the park. She turned back to Jim. She gulped. "Fine. But your not going to win. I'm sorry." She took out an equally small disk from her jacket, and it unfolded in circles. It had no sharp edges and looked far more delicate then normal dueldisks. She pulled out her deck and put it in her duel disk.

**(Jim: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Sandy: 8,000)**

"Ladies first." Jim offered.

Sandy drew her 6th card and looked at them. "I set 1 monster facedown and three cards facedown then end my turn." The brown backs of the cards appeared infront of her.

Jim smiled as he drew his 6th card. "Unusually prepared aren't you?" He looked over his cards before playing a monster. It appeared as a pale colored incredibly fat ghost like being, with it's hands over it's stomach as if it was content. "I summon Cloudian – Altus (1300/0) in attack mode." As it was summoned, a small blue cloud appeared alongside it.

Sandy took a deep breath as she remembered this monster._ He still uses the same deck. After all this time…_

_Sandy is younger now, about 9 with her blonde hair tied in a pony tail. She's lying on her back looking at the sky. A young jimmy, Hair scruffy and himself very short sits down next to her._

"_Whatcha doing Sandy?" Jim asked his best friend._

"_Looking at the clouds." She responded, not really bothered._

"_Oh." Jim said. "Why?" He asked after a moment._

"_To see the shapes. Like that one there looks like a castle! And that one looks like a monkey!" She says pointing out the clouds in turn. Jim looked really shocked._

"_Oh cool! And that one there looks like castle!" Sandy then turned over and pulled something out of her belt._

"_And this cloud looks like you after eating too much ice cream." Jim looked up expectantly._

"_Where Sandy? Where?" Sandy pulled him down, causing him to fall._

"_This one!" She showed him the card Altus. She then handed the card to him. "Here. Keep it."_

_Jim got really excited. "Really?" And noticed her nod. "Thanks Sandy!" And then gave her a tight hug._

"_Get off me, before you give me cooties!" Sandy complained, as the air was being squeezed out of her lungs._

In the present, Sandy blinked to see what she had missed.

"I said I attack your facedown monster." Jim repeated. Sandy nodded, as the monster revealed itself to be Nova Summoner (1400/800), a card which resembled a necklace with wings. The card shattered into pixels.

"I can now summon a light fairy with 1500 or less attack from my deck to the field. Meet Absorbing Kid from the sky (1300/1000)." A small boy in a white t-shirt and wings appeared on the field. He seemed out of place as a monster, but had his arms folded angrily at Jim. Jim shrugged.

"I sort of expected that. Well I was expecting Shining angel, but yeah that's about the same." He put two cards face down. "I end. To you."

Sandy began hyperventilating. _This is wrong, this wasn't supposed to happen! What do I do?_ Her hand began to shake as she reached for her card.

"You alright Sandy? Your hand is shaking." Sandy eventually grabbed the card and put it with the rest of her hand.

"I'm fine." She then played a spell card. "I play Fighting Spirit. Now my monster gains 300 attack points for each monster on your side of the field." (1300-1600/1000) She then pointed at the Cloudian. "Attack!"

The Absorbing Kid from the Sky charged some orange energy in it's hands, before firing it at the monster. When the attack struck, the monster's form absorbed most of the attack, while some leaked to strike Jim. At the end however, the monster remained on the field, completely unharmed and still smiling.

**(Jim: 7,700) - - - - - - - - - - (Sandy: 8,000)**

"As you should know, Cloudians can't be destroyed in battle. Nice try though."

Sandy shook her head. _Shoot how could I forget that? My head must be messed up from this. I need to calm down and be rationale. Cause I can't tell him the truth._

"I draw." Jim announced before he smiled at what he got. "I summon Cloudian – Cirrostratus (900/0)." A new cloud appeared on the field, this one pink. Eyes poked out of it, along with cartoon like cat whiskers. Two blue clouds appeared next to it.

"And incase these new holograms make it hard to see, these blue clouds here represent Fog Counters. My Cloudians get one for each Cloudian on the field when they're summoned. My Cirrostratus has an effect with hers. I can remove two Fog counters on her," The blue fogs mixed together and became a small hurricane. "To destroy a monster on the field. Like your Absorbing Kid!" The hurricane zoomed towards Absorbing Kid, before he was swept up in it, and was crushed into pixels.

"Now your wide open! Monsters attack!" The Cloudians zoomed towards her. Sandy raised an eyebrow.

"Wide open? Boy I've got three facedowns and they are not bluffs. I play Negate Attack." A vortex appeared on the field, halting both monsters' attacks.

Jim nodded. "I end my turn."

Sandy drew a card from her deck, before glancing at the field. _Great I drew Sanctuary in the Sky. Problem is, both of his monsters are Fairies as well. My Sanctuary will not help me in the slightest. But there is something else I can do._

"I remove from my graveyard my Nova Summoner and my Absorbing kid from the sky," The cards were ejected from her graveyard, and she placed them in her shirt pocket. "to summon Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800) in attack mode."

A translucent female spirit appeared on the field that stood by Sandy. It attempted to place its arms around her but Sandy abruptly moved away from her hug. The angel looked hurt.

"Sorry." She faced Jim, who looked confused. "I set a monster facedown. Now Soul, attack his Cirrostratus!" The spirit glowed white, before the energy was released towards the Cirrostratus cloud. But like Altus, the monster took the attack and reformed unscathed.

**(Jim: 6,600) - - - - - - - - - - (Sandy: 8,000)**

"Anything else?" Jim said. Sandy shook her head. As Jim drew, he narrowed his eyes. _What's going on? Why is she not upset? She was before. This isn't going according to plan. I need to end this quickly._

"I Summon Cloudian – Turbulence(800/0) in attack mode." A grey hurricane formed on the field, before growing a pair of arms and two holes for eyes. Three blue clouds appeared around it. "I activate his effect. I remove two fog counters to summon two Cloudian – Smokeballs (200/600) to the field." Two blue clouds were swallowed up by Turbulence into his mouth. Then after a moment, two yellow clouds popped out of it's head. Each looked small and child like, one even waved at Sandy.

"I now play a card I bet you weren't expecting. Umiiruka!" The park suddenly began to flood, and soon they were knee deep in sea water. Their monsters floated above the water though. Dolphins jumped up around them. "This card increases all my water monsters' attacks by 500 but decreases their defense by 400." Each of the Cloudians began to grow larger as they absorbed moisture from the water. (1300-1800/0) (900-1400/0) (800-1300/0) (200-700/600-200)

_Interesting. Most duelists prefer using Legendary Ocean, but I know for a fact this deck would hate to lose its one star. Just like Jim's deck back home. _She then felt like hitting her head. _Of course it all makes sense now! Idiot! _She then grew a small smile. _I'll play along though._

"I activate my facedown card Magic Drain! Now unless you discard a spell card you field is negated." Jim slid a Salvage card into the graveyard. Sandy seemed deflated. "Oh. Carry on then."

Jim pointed at her facedown. "Altus attack her facedown monster." The jolly yellow monster blew a blast of gas towards the monster.

"Hold on!" Sandy announced. "All your monsters lose 300 Attack points in the battle phrase from my Soul of Purity and Light!" Altus began to glow with an aura originating from the Spirit in question. (1800-1500/0)

The facedown monster flipped up, revealing Barrier Statue of the Heavens (1000/1000).

Jim chained a facedown. "I play Final attack orders. Now all face up monsters turn to attack mode and have to stay there. And your barrier monster just got flipped face up." As the statue shattered, Sandy's lifepoints took a hit.

**(Jim: 6,600) - - - - - - - - - - (Sandy: 7,500)**

Jim nodded. "And the rest of those points are going down. And your coming home Sandy. To your Ma and Pa, your sister Jennifer. She's grown up so much and-"

"SHUT UP!" Sandy screamed at him. "Your not Jim! I know what you are. So why don't you come out of that shell." Jim looked aghast and stepped back. Then his eyes changed dark purple.

"Bu-bu-but how? My disguise was so perfect. I researched it all. I even copied the deck he used back when you left." Sandy looked the creature up and down. This creature was a Bodachan. Similar to Boggarts they could assume a carbon Copy form of a target. Unlike Boggarts they weren't cruel and enjoyed vices. They used the form for simple tricks rather then crimes. They also were more sociable. Each Bodachan walked around with a partner from birth, its sibling. They were usually inseparable. In fact separation could lead to madness or depression.

Even an Aware could be caught by one of these Shadows. However her senses were shaper then a normal Aware because of her…ailment. Disguises didn't trick her as well and she could smell he was different. Only her grief and surprise had let her be fooled.

"Where's your partner? He should be around somewhere but I can't see him." The Bodachan didn't look pleased.

"He's not here. You separated us. And you will bring us back together." He placed the last card in his hand facedown in the Spell or Trap zone.

Sandy smiled before drawing her card. "You don't stand a chance against me now." She looked at her new card before playing it.

"I summon Dimensional Alchemist (1300/200)." A white armored creature appeared, it's visor lifted up to reveal a Japanese mask underneath. "I activate his effect. I remove one card from the top of my deck," She took off the card from her deck, raised an eyebrow at it before placing it with the other cards.

"And my monster gains 400 extra points (1300-1700/200)." The monster began to glow with purple energy. "Soul of Purity and Light attack him directly!" The Spirit glowed again, but before it could release its attack, a card on "Jim's" side of the field opened.

"Attack Guidance Armour." A suit of grey armour appeared around Dimensional Alchemist. "Now your monster attacks your Alchemist."

The light shot out of the Spirit, before bending in mid flight and striking Dimensional Alchemist. The monster screamed before it shattered into pixels. As the armour disappeared, the Fairy looked remorseful over what happened and put it's head in it's hands in shame.

**(Jim: 6,600) - - - - - - - - - - (Sandy: 7,200)**

Sandy narrowed her eyes. "My monster's effect activates. Since it was destroyed in battle I can return one of the monsters removed from the game by his effect to my hand." She put the removed card in her hand.

"Your move." She states.

*Jim* picks up his next card and smiles. "Oh what good fortune. This is the card that will end you. First I sacrifice all my Water monsters," Each of the Cloudians disappeared in turn. "To summon Cloudian – Nimbusman (1000/1000)." The new cloud rose from the water, before forming that of a large blue man, towering over the Oaks still visible in the park. 5 small blue clouds appeared circling Nimbusman's head.

"My Nimbusman gains a Fog Counter for each water monster I sacrifice to summon him, and I can sacrifice as many as I please. For each Fog counter on the field he gains 500 ATK points. And of course there's Umiiruka to further increase the fun." The clouds around Nimbus man glowed, before Nimbus man grew even bigger, until it towered over the biggest monsters of duel monsters. (1000-4000/1000-600)

"But of course, I know you Shadowchasers are resourceful. You'll probably have some way to destroy my monster with a spell. Well no, I've been saving this since I don't want to waste lifepoints. I activate my facedown card Imperial Order!" A tall man with white hair and a red robe appeared on the field. "Now all spell cards are negated as long as this card is on the field. That includes Umiiruka, but if your facedown card had any way of stopping an attack you would have used it by now." Then Sandy did something unexpected.

She pointed her finger at the Bodachan and smirked. "You fell for it."

"whu?" The Shadow asked confused.

"I activate my facedown card. Royal Surrender!" A group of peasants suddenly appeared on the field. They charged the red robed man, before tackling him down. The man shattered. The victorious peasants started to cheer. "My card negates a Continuous trap card and destroys it."

*Jim* was flabbergasted. "But…but…" Then he regained his composure. "So what? My monster will still crush yours. You have nothing."

Then Sandy's monster began to glow purple. "What's going on?"

"It's time for justice to be done." She stated, as purple lightning rained down around her. It struck Soul of Purity and Light who was destroyed. "I special summon Voltanis the Adjudicator (2800/1400)!"

A tall monster, appeared in a flash of light. It wore a purple armour with long wings and a staff bearing a sapphire in it's head, it's arrival was strange. First there was no monster, and then there was one. It was so sudden. So was the lightning shot out of its staff to strike the Cloudian. The Cloudian screamed in pain as electricity circulated it, before it shattered into droplets and then pixels.

"You seem to have difficulty following." She said as the Bodachan just stood there with it's mouth hanging open. "Let me explain it to you with props."

Sandy reached into her graveyard and pulled out Royal Surrender and Soul of Purity and Light. "When I played Royal Surrender, which is a counter trap, I can special summon my Adjudicator from my hand by destroying all my monsters." She then raised Soul of Purity and Light. "This card is a fairy. When I sacrificed her I activated Adjucator's other effect." She pointed at the monster by her side. "For each fairy sacrificed this way I can destroy a card on the field. I chose to destroy your Cloudian. You've caught up I assume." He made no response.

"Good. Well it's my turn as you have no cards in your hand and nothing else to do." After putting the destroyed cards in the graveyard, she drew her next card and smiled. "I play Sanctuary in the Sky." Umiiruka disappeared and the grass began to dry again, when all of a sudden a floating castle appeared behind Sandy.

"Now I summon Zeradias, Herald of Heaven (2100/800) in attack mode." A tall angel with green wings and armed with a halbard appeared on the field. "Both my monsters, attack directly!" The Adjudicator made no move, but lightning simply rained from the sky on the Bodachan. Zeradias charged at the Bodachan and slashed with his halberd before returning to Sandy's side of the field.

**(Jim: 1,700) - - - - - - - - - - (Sandy: 7,200)**

The Bodachan began to shake. "no, no. I can win. I can still win." And as he began to shake, like a man in whirl he drew his next card. "Yes! Perfect! I remove from my graveyard Cloudian – Altus," The card slipped out of his graveyard, but he quickly threw it aside, not caring where it landed.

"To summon Cloudian Storm Dragon (1000/0)!" The clouds mixed together, before forming a large blue dragon. Its 4 eyes glint with some hidden energy. A fog counter appeared on top of it.

"My Storm dragon can put a Fog Counter on one monster on the field once per turn which I just did. But more importantly it can't be destroyed in battle. And it's still a fairy so your sanctuary protects me as well from damage. I end my turn."

_All I have to do is stall until I get another Cloudian, or maybe Summon cloud. I can get a monster from my graveyard. Then when I draw my big monster nothing she summons will be able to stand up to it!_

Sandy closed her eyes, before she clutched her cross. She paused for a moment before making a silent prayer. She then drew quickly, before quietly saying,

"You think you can use my cards against me? I will not let anything stop me from bringing justice. I play Mystical Space Typhoon." A mystical energy vortex appeared on the field. It assaulted the sanctuary, which shook under the assault. Finally the Sanctuary crumbled and disappeared. Zeradias looked up in dismay before screaming in outrage, before he too shattered into pixels.

"Zeradias can't be on the field without the Sanctuary. But now you aren't protected from battle damage and Voltanis the Adjudicator is still here." She pointed at the dragon before announcing, "Voltanis the Adjudicator, Judgement Lightning!" As purple lightning shone from it's staff, the strike shot from above and as the electricity coursed through the Cloudian's form, it was conducted through and struck the Bodachan.

"AAAAHHHHH!" He screamed as he fried, before falling down on his knees.

**(Jim: 0) - - - - - - - - - - (Sandy: 7,200)**

The Bodachan began to cry. "Why? I couldn't do this. I need to see my brother. I need to see my brother." Then it's skin began to morph and it became a middle age plump woman with red hair. She looked at Sandy, before speaking in a femine voice.

"What are you? My sweet dear. God has forsaken you. The Devil is with you." The creature morphed again this time to a balding man with half moon glasses.

"Your no daughter of mine! You be a Shewitch!" Finally reverting to the form of a young girl, a little younger then Sandy but looked very similar.

"Why did you leave me sis? I needed you. Why Sis?" Sandy started to shake again. Her eyes became yellow and her voice became more primitive.

"LEAVE ME ALONE! STOP IT!" And with a roar she charged on all fours at the Bodachan, intending to claw it's eyes out. Then she was tackled to the ground by a familiar face.

"Sandy! Calm down! Calm down Sandy." Andrew said, holding her pressed down. He grabbed her cross and held it to her face. "Remember this? Remember yourself. You aren't like this. You need to calm down." Sandy stopped struggling and her eyes became human again.

"Thanks Andrew. How did you know I was here?" She asked.

"I got a warning there was a Bodachan near the Church you went to. And you don't duel often so I thought I would come see. Just got here, didn't expect to see you like this."

Sandy then said, "I'm fine by the way. You can get off me." Andrew looked down to see he was still pinning her. He sighed.

"You sure I can't stay here a bit longer?" He jokingly asked, before standing up. He turned towards the defeated Bodachan.

"I recognize you. Even with your disguise. You're the brother of Marlin Mc'Klin." The Bodachan nodded solemnly, before returning to the form of Jim.

"I'm Alec Mc'Klin. My brother was working for a group of bank robbing Shadows. He was told there was to be no bloodshed and all he had to do was look like the bank manager. He needed the money, he liked to gamble and it sounded like fun. I told him to forget it, but he left without me.

"The day of the robbery, he walked in with the other Shadows as he was in disguise. But as he walked over to the safe, the real bank manager showed up. The other shadows got shocked and started shooting people. My brother went to hide. The Shadowchasers arrived and took the others down, and my brother looked like he would get away.

"Then you showed up." He pointed at Sandy. "You and that god damn nose of yours! You found my brother. You caught him when he refused to duel, didn't let him explain himself. He was so scared he's mute now. You can imagine how that went at the trial. The other Shadows didn't help him out, looking to save their own skin. He got 10 years.

"You don't know what it's like being so far away from your brother, it's like losing a limb. 10 years and I would go mad. The courts wouldn't let his case be looked at again. Then I found a way to help him."

Andrew clicked his fingers. "I think I know what you've been trying to do. You were trying to prove Sandy here is mentally unfit to be a Shadowchaser." Sandy looked shock at the accusation. Andrew turned to address her. "By getting you so emotionally beaten down, getting you to reveal Shadows to a normal human or even attacking in wolf form like you did. He could use that to get you suspended, even expelled from the Shadowchasers. And thus all your cases would be reevaluated."

"And my brother would be free!" Alec shouted. Sandy walked towards him, with an emotionless face.

"Your brother. I didn't render him mute. When I found him, he begged to be taken in. I thought he was innocent, but I did so anyway at his request because of his guilt. I've felt so bad now. But now, looking at you at how pathetic you are, it makes me wonder," She bent down to look into his copied face.

"Your brother must be ashamed of you." She left the Bodachan where he was. "Andrew lets go. He hasn't broken any crimes." She turned back momentarily to look at Alec. "And he's probably suffered enough." Andrew nodded and both Shadowchasers left the scene.

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

Sandy was behind Andrew as he drove his motor bike back to the base. He had chosen to drive slower, keep within the speed limit for once. Finally he asked her what had been bugging him.

"Who was that guy he was imitating in the duel? You seemed to know him. What was he? Your brother, your boyfriend…" He left the question hanging, waiting to hear her response. Finally after a minute or more, she answered.

"Jim was my fiancé. He proposed to me after High school and said we would get married after I came back from College." Andrew raised both eyebrows, as he turned into the base's garage.

"Aah. Sorry. Didn't know." Sandy got off the bike and moved quickly into the base. "Hey why are you in such a hurry?"

"I need to make a call." Sandy said without turning around.

Andrew parked his bike in the garage, taking his time. _I wonder what Samual is doing? _

_**I have done many bad things in life. My curse has hurt many. I thought I could escape my past, to save them from me and my new life. But this opportunity has shown me that my past can sneak up on me. **_

_**If a simple Bodachan can discover my life so easily, then what if a dangerous Shadow did? An Ogre, a Troll? Even another Werewolf? **_

_**I've been selfish. I've been naïve. I've been many things. But this is something I didn't prepare for. I need to do something. And I need to do it now.**_

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

**Attack Guidance Armor**

**Normal trap**

**Image:** A man wearing an armour with a demonic appearance as light blasts move towards him.

**Card Description:** Activate only when your opponent declares an attack. Redirect the attack to a monster other than the attack target or attacking monster.

_Note: Attack __Guidance Armor was__ first used by Seto Kaiba in episode 123 of _

"_Yu-Gi-Oh". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode._

**0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0**

_Where is Samual? That's a good question. What does a retired war vetran do on a Sunday Afternoon? Go to the bar with some old army friends? See a movie with lots of violence? Pick up girls?_

_What you probably didn't expect was going to Kaiba land. But Samual is a father, and like many good fathers he takes his 8 year old to amusement parks. However unfortunately for him there's trouble at the amusement park. And Sam's got to take care of it._

_Stay turned, for the shocking next chapter "Short Circuit!" Coming soon._


End file.
